Today is Ash Wednesday, the day that begins Lent, the 40-day period preceding our commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Lent is a special time in the cycle of the Catholic Church and in some Protestant churches and so each year, in addition to whatever other retreats or programs I am giving in various other locations during Lent, I offer a Lent Refelection Series or Lent Retreat in Daily Living at the UST School of Law.
Yesterday was the first session of the four-session Lent Reflection Series I am offering this year. The focus of my talk was on the traditional Lenten observances of fasting, almsgiving and prayer. For some of the Catholics in the group, the talk offered, hopefully, a broader way of understanding practices they are familiar with from their youth. For some of the non-Catholic Christians, it was an introduction to a season they did not know much about.
Following my talk, we had a good general discussion of some of the ways people have in the past marked Lent, and we talked about resources that might provide some ideas for how they might practice during this Lent.
You can access a recording of my talk here or stream it from the icon below. (The podcast runs for 33:09.) A copy of the the handout I distributed to participants, which I talk about near the end of my talk is here.
Creo en Dios! 